On Monday night I went to see Buena Vista Social Club in Cork Opera House with my wife Jacinta. We had a blast there and the crowd loved them, even if they did drag out the musician solos a bit too much. There’s only so many minutes you can hear the same set of notes repeating before it gets monotonous.

Regardless, there were lots of fans in the audience. The band barely spoke a word of English throughout which certainly helped the atmosphere. I unfortunately have barely a word of Spanish so I would look blankly at my wife!

When Omara Portuondo came on stage the audience erupted. Even at the age of 82 she moved about the stage and sang many songs, extolling the audience to stand up from their seats. Soon everyone was dancing or at the very least rocking from foot to foot in the stalls!